The present invention relates to sealed gas burners for cooking ranges. More particularly, the present invention relates to a simplified sealed gas burner which is more economical to produce and which can be easily removed from the cooking range in order to facilitate the cleaning of both the gas burner and the cooking range.
Conventional domestic household cooking ranges are generally comprised of a planar range top and a plurality of sealed burners. These gas burners can be divided into two styles, the first being an open cook top burner and the second being a sealed cook top burner. Open cook top burners are normally supported by structure which is located below the range top and the burner extends through a burner opening in the range top. There is an annular space or clearance that exists between the burner head and the burner opening. This annular space or opening can vary in width from one-half of an inch to one and one-half inches and over the years this has presented problems to the range designers, the range manufacturers and the end users of the range. This annular space or clearance can allow food spills to fall through to the underlying burner box and this annular space or clearance can also provide a non-intended opening for flue products to vent, especially when an oven or any other burner compartment located below the top section begins to operate. Sealed gas burners have been developed to overcome some of these problems.
Sealed gas burners are secured in place within one or more apertures with the outer periphery of the sealed gas burner mating with the range top to eliminate any type of annular space or clearance between the burner and the range top. The elimination of this annular space or clearance stops food spillage from dropping into the burner box below the range top and it eliminates any problems associated with the venting of flue products. The sealed gas burner provides a clean streamlined appearance which facilitates both the cleaning and the maintenance of the range top.
A typical prior art sealed gas burner assembly includes a die cast metal burner body which is covered by a removable die cast metal top to form a gas chamber. The burner body includes a sidewall having a plurality of burner ports formed therein and through which the primary air/gas mixture is passed to the exterior of the burner body for combustion. Other typical prior art sealed gas burner designs include a stamped burner top which is crimped to a stamped burner base to form the sealed gas chamber.
A major disadvantage to these prior art designs for sealed gas burners has been the difficulty of the procedure required when cleaning the cooking range, the burner assembly and the overall costs involved with their manufacture. The burner assemblies having a removable top allowed access to the gas chamber and the burner ports formed in the burner body, but removal of the burner body for cleaning of the cooking range normally required some type of tool to release a special fastener securing the burner body to the cooking range. The stamped burner designs have been manufactured such that they are removable from the range top but the designs for the crimped assemblies have severely limited access to the internal gas chamber and the inside portion of the burner ports for cleaning.
Still other prior art stamped metal burner assemblies have been developed to overcome the problems associated with the assembly and cleaning of the burners and the cooking range. These newer designs of sealed gas burners include a stamped steel base which is attached to the cooking top using a twist lock connection between the burner base and the cooking range. The twist lock feature eliminates the need for special tools for removing the burner base from the cooking range. A stamped metal burner cap engages the burner base using a fluid tight slip fit such that the burner cap can be easily removed from the burner base with its associated burner ports for cleaning. The sealed gas burner is designed to telescopically engage an air/fuel mixer tube which extends between the gas valve and the burner opening in the range top.
While the prior art sealed gas burners have performed satisfactorily for cooking ranges, the continued development of sealed gas burners has been directed to sealed gas burners which are more economical to produce while still providing all the advantages of simplicity of assembly and convenience in cleaning.
The present invention provides the art with a unique three piece stamped sealed gas burner which comprises a venturi tube, a burner cup and a burner cap. The venturi tube includes a bracket for attachment of the tube to the range top. The burner cup slidingly engages the venturi tube, which is designed to extend through the range top. The burner cup forms the bottom portion of a pocket which holds the gas and air mixture for supply to the burner ports. The burner cap is positioned over the burner cup. The burner cap includes a pair of locating posts which engage a pair of respective indentations in the burner cup to locate the burner cap with respect to the burner cup. One of the two posts serves as the grounding point for the igniter. The burner ports are formed into the lower surface of the burner cap. The sealed gas burner of the present invention provides an economical sealed gas burner which requires less assembly time and has fewer chances of having quality problems. The sealed gas burner is easier to keep clean because the burner ports are located in the burner cap and the burner cap can be easily removed for cleaning.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.